KARACHI: A senior lawyer and the owner of two pet dogs who mauled and injured the former in Defence Housing Authority last month have reached an out-of-court settlement.

A “compromise agreement” having certain conditions including euthanizing the dogs and donating Rs1 million to an animals’ welfare organisation was on Friday confirmed by SSP-Investigation Imran Mirza, who said the police would dispose of the case accordingly.

Accused Humayun Ali Khan along with his son and dogs’ handlers, Fahad and Ali, was booked in a case pertaining to the attack on Advocate Mirza Akhtar by his dogs in DHA Phase-VI on June 16.

A video clip had gone viral on social media showing the senior lawyer getting mauled by the two pet dogs. The incident was captured by a CCTV camera, which showed the dogs pouncing on and tackling the man to the ground while he was out for a walk. The victim was severely injured by the dogs before being rescued by some people.

Although legal proceedings in the case were under way, a compromise was reached between the lawyer and the dogs’ owner to settle the matter.

According to the compromise agreement dated July 6, complainant Akhtar had agreed to forgive Khan “for the sake of Allah” on certain conditions.

Unconditional apology, Rs1m donation

It said the dogs’ owner tenders an unconditional apology to Akhtar for the “hurt and injury caused to him”.

Khan and his family will not keep “any dangerous or ferocious dogs” at their home as pets. Any other dogs kept as pets will be registered with the Cantonment Board Clifton and will not be allowed to venture out on the streets without a properly trained handler and will be muzzled and leashed at all times when they are outside.

The two dogs involved in the attack on the lawyer will be euthanized/put down by a veterinarian immediately. Khan will give away any other such dogs that he owns.

The dogs’ owner will make a donation of Rs1m to the Ayesha Chundrigar Foundation/ACF Animal Rescue.

The agreement has been signed by both the parties and witnesses and submitted in court.

Late last month, suspect Khan had managed to escape after a sessions court recalled his interim pre-arrest bail.

In his order, Additional District and Sessions Judge (South) Shahid Ali Memon had stated that the owner had shown great negligence by not observing safety measures when the pet dogs were released from his house.

The judge concluded that the offences with which the applicant and his companions had been charged were not offences against an individual only but against the whole society, therefore, the owner was not entitled to pre-arrest bail.

The judge recalled the interim pre-arrest bail granted to the applicant and also dismissed his application seeking confirmation of the same.

After the bail was recalled, the applicant, who was present in the courtroom, escaped as the investigating officer failed to arrest him, the victim’s counsel Haq Nawaz Talpur told Dawn at the time.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2021